


Someday

by CuriosityRedux



Series: Dragon Drabbles Berk [4]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hiccstrid - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-29 21:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16751539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriosityRedux/pseuds/CuriosityRedux





	Someday

**Someday**

**-**

Needless to say, the women of the village were nothing less than helpful when it came to fixing what they saw as a tremendous flaw in their chief’s relationship with his wife. It was the worst directly following the wedding. He couldn’t shake a hand or hug a neck without someone pulling him in and whispering in his ear. People palmed notes of advice, leaves and herbs, passing them discreetly or slipping them in his pockets. Sometimes he’d find them later while undressing and stand baffled while he tried to recall receiving said item.

It irritated Astrid just as much. Possibly more. Once months passed and the village seemed to realize that they were in no rush to extend their family, the advice and suggestions lessened. But didn’t cease completely. Every now and then Astrid would dully inform him that someone had pointed out that she’d gained weight. Or they’d be in the middle of lovemaking, and she’d groan aloud and say, “Mrs. Ack tried to convince me to do this upside down…”

It was a side effect of inheriting his father’s throne. Everyone waited for an heir. 

For the most part, their friends and family found it hilarious. Gobber cackled at Hiccup’s frustration, only laughing harder when the young chief blushed. Valka had more tact about it, but even she would chuckle and shrug and admit that was why she had her son so young. Being in the public’s eye meant every facet of their lives was everyone’s business. But it reminded him of his dad.

Stoick, of course, would’ve been just as enthusiastic as the villagers. He’d drop hints, raise eyebrows, nudge his elbow into Hiccup’s ribs. His excitement had been palpable even before the wedding. He wasn’t looking forward to an heir, though. Securing the Haddock line wasn’t a concern of his– neither was ensuring there was someone to take Hiccup’s place if something tragic occurred. He wanted a grandchild. 

And that made Hiccup’s grief feel brand new. It made him miss his father with a terrible fierceness. He wasn’t ready to have children if it meant his dad would be missing their births. If he wouldn’t be there to meet them and guide them. Guide him.

“Oh wow,” he scoffed, walking into his house after a long day to find his wife dragging one of the storage trunks from beneath the stairs. She was bent over, rear end high in the air as she grunted and pulled at the handle. “That’s a view I could get used to coming home to.”

“Ha,” she answered sarcastically, glancing over her shoulder. Her mouth was curled with amusement, though, and when she returned to her efforts, she gave her hips an extra little wiggle.

Hiccup brought a hand to his chest, sighing happily at the show. As he slid his bag off of his shoulder and dropped it on the kitchen table, Toothless came bounding down the stairs to greet him. He laughed tiredly and scratched his best friend’s ears– or at least, he tried to. All the bouncing made it hard.  

“He didn’t get enough flying in, with all the rain.” Astrid gave the trunk one last long pull and then dropped to her knees in front of it. “I’m sure you wouldn’t be opposed to taking him, now that it’s cleared?”

“Mm.” He squinted at the Night Fury, trying not to break and laugh at the nearly violent wagging of his tail. “I  _guess_.” Toothless licked the hand he used to pet him. 

Shrugging out of his mangle, he hung the heavy fur on a hook by the door and rubbed his neck as he sauntered into the main room. “What’re we pulling that out for?”

Astrid shot him a flat glance, lifting her brows. Then she twisted and grabbed something on the floor next to it. Unfolding the thin white fabric, she held the prettily-embroidered, infant-sized nightgown for him to see. “Another gift from my mom. And by gift I mean wishful thinking.”

“Ahh,” he nodded, falling into the sitting chair he’d brought from his parents’ house. Toothless followed, wriggling under his feet and rolling onto his back. Hiccup used his prosthesis to scratch the dragon’s scales. “Another piece for the collection.”

Laughing under her breath, she refolded the little gown and rubbed a finger over the ruffled collar. “One of these days, these things will see the light.” Reaching in, she rustled through the layers of swaddling blankets, clothing, toys– all things she’d collected or made since their engagement. She pulled out a small whittled dragon. A trinket he didn’t remember seeing before. Astrid only glanced at it for a second, though, sitting it on top of the small pile. Then she tossed the gown inside. The lid shut with a wooden  _thunk._

Hiccup watched the way her fingertips lingered on the latch for just a second longer than usual. It gave him pause, made his hand go still on his neck. “What was that?”

“Hmm?” Her blue eyes flicked up. “Oh– that? Just something your dad made me.” Shaking her head, she waved vaguely. “I put it in there so I won’t lose it.”

His brows shot upwards. Slowly straightening, he pushed out of his chair and stepped over Toothless. She scooted over so he could sit next to her. Tugging the trunk to face him, he lifted the lid and picked up the carving, holding it to the light of the hearth. 

“It’s Thornado,” he realized with half a smile. His thumb ran over the wooden rendition of the Thunder Drum, feeling even the tiny details of sharp teeth. “He even made him a little saddle.” 

“I thought you knew about it,” she admitted, nodding towards the figurine. “I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret or anything.”

“When’d he give it to you?” It was an odd feeling, running his hands over something his father had touched. He did so all the time, curling his fingers under the arms of his sitting chair, but this little carving felt different. Like his presence somehow lingered more recently in the wood’s grain. 

“Sometime after the handsal.” Leaning her head on his shoulder, she traced her own finger along the dragon’s tail. “I don’t remember  _exactly_  what he said, but it was something about looking out for me and being my dad, even if it was just by marriage. Like how Thornado took in Bing, Bang, and Boom.”

“Huh.” Hiccup turned the carving in his hands. His father had been looking forward to their wedding, doting on Astrid so much one would think  _she_  was his child. He loved her. 

“I’ve got this, too.” She reached back into the trunk and pulled out a familiar stuffed dragon. The blue one his mom made him, with his name stitched into the side. “Some of your baby clothes. Some of mine.”

He found himself taking the toy and holding it in the crook of his elbow. “Show me.” 

Her expression lit with something like surprise. She blinked for a moment, before mumbling, “Sure,” and pulling away. 

As she rummaged through the pile, he craned his neck, attempting to see. She plucked out a teething ring he didn’t recognize. A tiny tunic he did. A blanket embroidered with the twisted necks of a Zippleback– the Haddock crest. He found himself struggling to hold it all in his arms. 

“Why haven’t I seen any of this stuff?” He inspected the little tunic carefully, feeling the ridges of the stitching in the sleeves. On a whim, he held it up in front of Astrid, lowering it to her stomach and tilting his head at the image.

She laughed, shrugging and rolling her eyes. “It’s not exactly the husband’s duty to worry about collecting baby things. Your parents gave me yours, and I got mine from my mom.”

Hiccup leaned over, pushing back cradle sheets and bonnets. He found a tiny nightgown like the one they’d just received from Astrid’s mother. How impossibly small it was. Reaching over again, he held the nightgown to her belly. It just fit the span between the waistband of her skirt and the rise of her breasts. She smiled nervously and glanced away. 

Strange thought, that a person could be so little. Could fit that tiny gown and fit inside a person’s body.

She pushed his hands away with a little embarrassment. “Stop. Feels like you’re picturing me the size of a Gronkle.”

He hadn’t been, but now he was. Imagining her slender waist thickening, eventually swelling. Imagining her with a bump just big enough to catch the village women’s eyes, to hold in his hand. And then with a roundness that would make her waddle. For years, those pictures had been scary what-ifs, the consequence of a stolen tryst in the forge, a night spent out with the dragons instead of on Berk. Hiccup realized for the first time that if he got his wife pregnant now, it wouldn’t be an embarrassment or a shame. It would be… something. 

He looked up at her cheeks, flush with bashfulness. “Do you…  _want_  to have a baby?”

Her lashes fluttered as she stammered, and she gave her head the tiniest shake. “Well, yeah– I mean… When the time’s right.”

That felt evasive. Of course they both already knew they’d have children  _eventually_. “When will the time be right?”

Astrid made a scoffing noise and lifted her hands. “I don’t know. When we’re ready?”

He held her gaze. “What would  _you_  need to be ready? Hypothetically speaking.” 

Her open mouth worked, attempting to find the words. Her eyes searched his face, brow wrinkled with uncertainty. “Well, I– I didn’t want to be worrying about it while we were still getting used to being married, or while things were still hostile with Spack. I wanted to wait until you’d had a chance to get settled as chief and– y’know, were okay with taking on even more responsibilities.”

Hiccup glanced down at the carving in his lap. Picking up the replica, he thought about Thornado and the days after his father had released him. It left his father’s schedule a little out of wack, at least until they found Skullcrusher, but his dad always talked about the Thunder Drum with pride. He never regretted letting him go or begrudged him leaving to take care of his new hatchlings. 

“Sounds like you’re waiting on  _me_ ,” he told her a little wryly. 

Astrid straightened her bangs, a habit he knew stemmed from self-consciousness. “Well, it’s not just my decision.”

He looked back up at his wife, corners of his mouth curving upwards. His hand moved to the back of his neck, rubbing stiff and sore muscles. He couldn’t look straight at her when he asked, “If you don’t make the tea… You could get pregnant right away?”

She seemed stunned. “I… That…” When she was unable to come up with a reply, her gaze flitted behind him to the kitchen where her box of herbs was kept. “Probably not like  _right_ away. It might take a couple months of trying.”

Trying. What an interesting notion. 

Swallowing hard, he leaned forward and brushed his hand across her warm cheek. He kissed her gently, feeling his heart pounding just a bit heavier than normal. “I think– I think I’m gonna take Tooth for some fresh air.”

Astrid nodded, stealing another taste of his lips before he could pull away. 

“When I get back…” He nuzzled his nose against hers. “I want to take my wife to bed. If you make the tea or if you don’t–” Giving her forehead a peck, he sat back and caught her warm gaze. “Don’t tell me. Okay?”

For a second, she only stared. But then her mouth spread into a slow, excited smile. “Okay,” she whispered.

Hiccup gathered the items off his lap and passed them to her waiting arms. He tried not to look at her as he stood and got his Night Fury’s attention, in case he lost his cool, but he caught a glimpse of her on his way out the door. She blinked at the blanket draped over the edge of the trunk, chest visibly rising and falling with her breathing.  Covering her mouth with both hands, she shook her head in disbelief. Then she hid her entire face and exhaled a giggly laugh.


End file.
